Battery support for electric vehicles



W. S. WARD ET AL BATTERY SUPPORT FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES Uct. 12 s, 1926.,

Filed April 5, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheei l W. S. WARD ET AL BATTERY SUPPORTFOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES Filed April 3. 1922 2 Sheets-Shee 2 .llrl-- lll.:

d vehicles, suoli fttmoinlesi coina of storvehicle beh become discha i osuch necessary or desirable t( -fn oii'lei that the batteriVr when f' dn' ay contain a sullicient V Y, so that the Vehicle may be operationite-f a eonsii'leralisle leneth time betere it again becomes neeeps rythe battery5 the oattery unit must isiderable bull; Weight. The isilallymade up of a number ott incells, a, su'llleieot number oit which isc-tedin sei'ies provide the desired .i and a number of such serially con- Larranget in iarailel to :furnish 'ed current Without injury to the'.i'ht oit the battery unit with its j cradle constitutes a materialpart Weight of the vehicle, and it is a coiisideif-1ble problem to pronYtor safely oaiu'yinf;I the battery 1 all sorts oi roads and in all sortsof f 'het' conditions at the same time pro- Ycle traine oit suchstrength as the 'Weight oit the battery ed. lh 1s liaiticularly true oneio ehio roblein the iumging; and joltin this situ-at' n the pioyidingsi, cient bottom ot the battery 'lllhat is, it the Wheels 8 inches deepa Correthe battery dle prevent acci- Jfurther i.

i the other purposesvq i ons and tedious task ivhieh efforts of severalpersons and `lely to result in damaoe to the i particularly ii theWorllfers ere inexperienced.

El ll atiey cradles ot this general cha 'aetei1 con'mionly consist of aframe or body non tioy :ovided with hangers positioned at or neel. herespective corners oit the cadle l'or effecting attachment to theVehicle body., The hangers usually consist of yertical metal stripswhose tops are bent d wnwerdly to 'torni heolzs adapted to engage witheyes or equivalent elements on the Vehicle traine. lne te the jumpingand jolting -which is encountered in iouidh roads the hoolis are usuallysome 6 inches in depth to insure that the battery eradle will not bejolted oompletely out of its support. This construction iecessitates aco 1tespending,v less in clearance inesinuch as the battery cradle oustduring' the process of putting it in ace on th Vehicle, be raised some 6inches i ``ier than the position which it assumes u'hen hanging;normally from its support- 'ngg hooks. Due to the diculty insiinuleneously effecting the engagement ot all oopefatingeyes9 theCradle is invariably hung; in `place alone and the batteiiessubsequently placed in it, it coriespondingl procedure is followed whenthe batteries aie remoyee; that is? the l batteiy cells ere removedtroni the cradle Without attempting' to remove the enne unit at once.For this reason the ciadle is commonly provided with one or more sideswhich may oe swung` down out et the Way. A false bottoni consisting; eta plet'teiin ot dimensions substantially identical with the inteiiorsection oi" the cradle is provided to support the individual batteryCells Jthe tolse bottoni being equipped with rollers so that it may berolled into position after the battery cells have been placed i `ponitand may be similarly Witl lfawn when it is desired to remove thebatteries.

lil

incasso the inain beains l. rlhese inenibers ll together with thelongitudinally extending` ineinbers 2 constitute the supporting` traineworlr iler the battery cradle and lend rigidity to the entire structurrlhe weiglit ot' the battery unit does not tall upon the vehicle :traineat leur distinct points of support but, on the other hand, istransmitted to the 'traine throughout the entire length ot thesupporting bars 9. Vlhis "feature insui-es against excessive localizedstresses in parts ot the traine and guards against any deiiorniation ofthe traine work which niight otherwise result. Each ot the bars 9 isprovided with a pin stop l2 so that the bar inay be quiclrly insertedand will be positioned accurately relative to the eyes 8 oit the hangersby ineans oit the stop which contacts against one et the hangers. Forthe purpose of loelring the entire unit in position a pair of notches 13is provided on each oi' the bars 9 to engage with the hanger eyes 8 andtogether with pins l2, prevent longitudinal inoveinent of the barvllWhen the battery cradle with its contained battery cells is wheeledinto position under the truclr preparatory to attaching the cradle tothe vehicle traine, the cradle is so located as to corne between thedownwardly extending flanges of the transverse nieinbers ll. The cradleis then raised until the tops of the eyes S are approachi the level ofthe outwardly extending' flanges on the supporting members 2. rllhelifting' device carrying the battery unit is then pushed alongtransversely olf the vehicle until the hanger arrns conie into contactwith the stop 13, which may conveniently be a rod extendinglongitudinally along one side oit the vehicle as shown. ln this positionthe stop rod 13 and the guides ll will so locate the cradle that theupper ends ot the hangers will be in register with the correspondholesl0 in the tlange 2. ln this condition the cradle inay then be elevatedso that the eyes 8 enter the respective holes to a suitllcient eirtentto perinit insertion ol the supporting bars 9. ln order that the batteryterminals niay not be lifted against the vehicle traine during` theprocess et mounting the cradle, the respective corners olE the cra* dle3 are formed as upright ineinbers lel whose upper ends project slightlybeyond the tops of the battery cells. Thus, it the cradle is elevated toa suthcient extent, the tops ot the inenibers l-t will contact with theunder side of the vehicle l'raine and prevent injury to the battery teininals rllhe ineinbers ll serve a further purpose in that it the underside ot the vehicle body is not in a horizontal position it inaynevertheless be lilted into such position by raising the battery cradleagainst it. ller instance, it the loading el the vehicle is such thatthe ot the cradle is also in contact with the vehielo traine. ln thisposition the supporting rods 8 are easily inserted, whereas if thevehicle traine tould not be leveled, it would be nece 'sary to provideseine ineans ilor so tilting the cradle that all et the eyes S would prject through their corresoonding openings l0 a sutlicient distance toperniit insertion oi the supporting rods El. ldith this arrangement itis to be noted that the placing olI the battery cradle in position onthe vehicle, well removal oi the unit which is already in place, inayeasily be accomplished by one person with the use ol an ordinary jaclror hydraulic lit't such as is connn lv liound in factories and repairshops. o.

covers or shields l5 it'or the battery unit n iv be provided in thel'orin of sheet nietal :neinbers whose upper ends are bent over as shownand punched out to lit 3er ends of the hanger eyes El, l5 are secured inplace by slidsupporting rods 9 in place upon. theni.

lll ien the battery cradle is in position a sinall space occurs betweenthe end 'walls ot the wood lining 5 and the transversely ei;- tending`guide ineinbers ll, seen in l gs. and il. rlhe inoveinent et the vehiclewhen in operation will tend to produce a current of air which, asindicated by the arrows, will enter at the iront ot the battery unit,pass over the tops of the battery cells, and pass out through the spacebetween the wood lining 5 and the guide il at the rear ol the batteryunit. This effects a forced ventilation oit `the b tteries and serves toremove the frases accumulating in the space above the storage cells andto keep the unit cool, rlhis 'teature is l'urther augmented by theprovision ot a nuinber oit pcrforations 1G provided in the cover plate 17, which cover is attached to the vehicle trarne and may be piece otsheet inetal riveted in place or inay be a larger sheet ha ing its endportions bei-it down to torni the transverse guides ll. Above the holelsi6 a duct i3 is constructed having` open ends and extending in tl edirection ot the len? i ot the vehicle. rillus the nieven'ient of thvehicle will cre-- te a ventilating current along the length olf `heduct and will serve to drive out a poron ot the ga es troni the chainberabove ie storage cells and supply lresh air in its ad. Any desirednuinber ol such ducts i al may 'be provided, a-nd we have shown two otthem positioned in parallelism on opposite sides 'the center line et thevehicle.

lt to be noted that .in a battery cradle embodying` o invention it ismerely necessary to provide a light steel trame wor r and an innerlining ot wood 'to contain the 'batte J cells. The total weight ot abattery unit constructed in this manne 7s materially less than theweight of a n t or similar energy capacity constructed in the ordinarymanner. lt is turfther to be noted that the clearanc underneath thebottom ot the battery -crz dle is very materially increased 'owing tothe fact that no roller bottom or other equivalent st 1ncture isemployed .in the battery cradle, and 'to the tact that the supportingeyes ot' the hangers re closed and con nently do not require that thebattery fhe Lred a number of inches higher than its normal position invorder that it may be set in place.

1We have illustrated ka prei'erred embodiment ot our invention, but itis to be understood that certain changes trom the s Victn'e shown may bemade. For Ilistance, the holes through which "the hanger ves 8 pass mayIbe termed as slots enten(v inwardly t'rom the outside edges o the snp"porting flanges, the particular guides yand stops employed to properlylocate the cradle may assume other terms, and er tions in -constructionmay be made ivitiiin the scope et the appended claims.

lle claim l. ln an electric vehicle, a battery Acindle comprising a'containing box having, rigidly associated sides, means for attachingsaid cradle to the vehicle trame, `guides for controlling' thehorizontal movement ot said cradle in one direct? on as it is liftedinto position, and a stop for permitting horizontal movement ot saidcradle rin vanother direction and limiting the extent ot said movementwhereby said cradle may be accurately located tor attachment tothevehicle.

2. ln an electric vehicle, a battery cradle comprising a containing'boi; Vhaving` rigidly associated sides, means 'for attaching said cradleto the vehicle trame, guides extending transversely ot the vehicle bodytor controlling` the location et said cradle longitudinally of thevehicle, and a stop tor limitin?,` the movement of said cradletransversely ot the vehicle, whereby said cradle may be introduced tosaid transverse guides and moved into contact with said stop to locatelit in proper position beneath the vehicle.

8. In `an electric vehicle, a battery cradle comprising a containingbox, means for at- Lacasse with the vehicle trame when said cradle 'isrr d into its posit-ion tor attachment,

whereby said vehicle may vbe bre ight into proper position tor theattachment ot said cradle.

il. in an lelectgic vehicle, a battery `cradle comprising a containing`bos, sup-porting hangers on said bon, cooperatingparts proe oi therespective sioes ot the vehicle .fr receiving said hangers, a common barextending along each of said -;s, heads on said hangers tor receiving haand maintaining said cradle in poend locking means provided on said orireventin-g displacement or" said cra- .ni normal position.

in an electric vehicle, a battery 'cradle comprsinp, a containing bei;havingi rigidly associated sides, means for attaching said lle to the v,hiel-e trame, and guides tor con rolling' the horizontal movement ofsaid cran in one direction as'it is lifted into position, said guidesextending downwardly 'from the vehicle in spaced 'relation to Yandterminating adjacent the lupper portion 4oit the'cradle, whereby a smallspace is provided between the respective Vguides vand the adjacent wallsot said 'cradle to permit a ventilatinaj cu rentto pass above thebattery cradle. ln an 'electric vehicle, va battery cradle comprising' acontain-ing box, means for Yattaching said cradle to the vehicle trame,a member mounted Valcove said battery cradle having ventilatinfg holes,and ducts positioned above said ventilating holes extendinglongitudinally or" the vehicle, whereby the movement ot the vehicleetlects a ventilating` current through said ducts.

'l'. ln an Velectric vehicle, a battery cradle comprising' a containingbox, supporting hangers on said box, cooperatingl parts provided on therespective sides ot' the vehicle trame tor receiving` said hangers, asupporting 'bar extending along` each of said parts, heads on saidhangers tor receiving 'said 'bars and maintaining said 'cradle inposition, and a `member supported by each of said bars for shielding therespective sides ot said battery cradle. Y

ln testimony whereot I athX my signature.

BENJAVHN H. BRITT.. ln testimony whereof l aiiix my signature.

VlJVAlfllER S. WARD.

